Dialogues with History: Aleksei Dikiy's Productions at the Habima Theatre

• In Event: Trauma, Memory, and Resistance in Theatre and Film I

Abstract

The paper focuses on two historical productions directed by Aleksei Dikiy at the Habima Theatre in 1928-1929. These were the first productions to be staged at Habima after the theatre departed from Moscow in January 1926, and both were directly related to issues of memory. The Treasure by Shalom Aleichem addressed short-term memory, portraying life in a Jewish village in the Russian Empire of the late nineteenth to early twentieth century; David's Crown by Calderón recounted the history of the ancient period of King David. The two of them were very different in terms of style, with the representation of history on stage being their central concern. The analysis of Dikiy's Tel Aviv productions encompasses a multifaceted array of issues, including a study of the theatrical practices of representing history and the socio-cultural conflicts that accompany this experience. Furthermore, it delves into the memory associated with the artistic method of Russian theatrical modernism outside Russia.

Author

• Olga Levitan, Hebrew U of Jerusalem (Israel)